25 Celebrities You Never Knew Were Cheerleaders

So much of what is great in this world was invented right here in the United States. Where would the world be without barbed wire, Play-Doh, rubber bands, the teddy bear, Viagra, the zipper, the atomic bomb or the automatic bread slicer? Seriously, we invented sliced bread!

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

America also revolutionized sports with more inventions than you can shake a stick at. AstroTurf, the drinking fountain, the skateboard, light bulbs, Kevlar, miniature golf, sunscreen and the digital wrist watch were all invented in the U.S. Some are more important than others, but imagine sports without light bulbs and sunscreen.

Oh, and where would Canada be without our precious Zamboni?

Ideally you already know where I'm going with this, otherwise you are probably extremely confused about the introduction so far based on the title, but in case you don't: Cheerleading was obviously made in the U.S.A. as well.

What started as an all-male activity at Princeton in 1877 has become one of our national pastimes, which is why some of our most beloved celebrities, revered singers and controversial politicians have all served admirably as cheerleaders at some point in their lives.

25. Sandra Bullock, Actress

Images via Zimbio & TheBerry

Way before she won an Oscar for her role in The Blind Side, actress Sandra Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School in Virginia. Bullock performed in school theater production and was obviously a cheerleader before graduating in 1982.

17. Cameron Diaz, Actress

Images via People Magazine

This photo of actress Cameron Diaz as a high school cheerleader has been floating around the Internet since…well…the invention of the Internet.

Diaz hasn't talked much about her cheerleading past at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, but since she dropped out at age 16 to pursue modeling in 1989, the photo was probably taken pretty early in high school.

16. Blake Lively, Actress

Images via Zimbio & TheBerry

Coming from a family of actors, actress Blake Lively wasn't particularly interested in the business during her formative years, which gave her time to attend, cheer for, and actually graduate from Burbank High School in California.

Apparently the acting bug bit at some point, though, because this girl has been everywhere lately.

14. Dakota Fanning, Actress

Images via Zimbio & HollywoodThorn

Actress Dakota Fanning has been acting regularly since the age of 5, which is why I was so surprised to learn that she actually attended any school at all. Not only did Fanning graduate from Campbell Hall School in Hollywood in 2011, she found time to participate in varsity cheerleading and was even voted homecoming queen.

Homegirl is apparently studying at NYU at the moment. Is there anything Fanning can't do?

13. Fergie, Singer

Images via Zimbio & TheBerry

Before making it big time as the star of Kids Incorporated, Stacy Ann Ferguson was a regular California girl attending Glen A. Wilson High School. According to her Wikipedia page, Ms. Fergie was a cheerleader, a straight-A student, a spelling bee champion and a Girl Scout.

And now she's a member of the Black Eyed Peas. Where did it all go so wrong?

12. Trent Lott, Former U.S. Senator

Images via WikiCommons & Ole Miss

Republican Trent Lott is a former U.S. senator from Mississippi who resigned his seat in 2007, but had resigned from party leadership five years earlier after controversial comments in support of segregation.

Richard Barrett, a segregationist, commented on Lott's days as an Ole Miss cheerleader back in 2002:

"Trent Lott began as a cheerleader at Ole Miss. He ran onto the field carrying the Confederate flag--that's how he became popular. Would he have become popular running onto the field carrying a picture of Martin Luther King? I don't think so."

8. Kirstie Alley, Actress

Image via Snakkle

Actress Kirstie Alley hit it big in the late '80s getting cast in NBC's legendary sitcom Cheers. Even back then it would have been hard to tell that this little girl from Kansas would turn into the actress we know now.

6. Halle Berry, Actress

Images via ShadowAndAct & People Magazine

Actress Halle Berry was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and was a cheerleader at Bedford High School in the mid '80s.

Before eventually getting into acting, Berry also competed in beauty pageants and won Miss Teen All-American in 1985, Miss Ohio in 1986, and was first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant later that year.

4. George W. Bush, Former U.S. President

Images via CNN & Examiner

Decades before being elected president in one of the most controversial elections in history, George W. Bush was following in the Skull and Bones footsteps of his father and grandfather at Yale University.

Like the Bushes that came before him, W. was also a cheerleader at Phillips Academy and then later a frat boy. Those must have been some weird days.

3. Lindsay Lohan, Actress

Images via Zimbio & CollegeHumor

Can you believe a member of the Lohan family actually attended school for any period of time—especially Lindsay? Apparently she attended Calhoun High School in Merrick, N.Y. where she was an adorable cheerleader.

Or at least she pretended to be one at one point. And look at her now...

1. Meryl Streep, Actress

Images via Zimbio & HuffingtonPost

In 2012, someone got their grubby little paws on Meryl Streep's high school yearbook. Apparently before she was the world's greatest living actress, Streep was a varsity cheerleader at Bernards High School in New Jersey.

I bet she was the world's greatest living cheerleader at the time, too.

I was never a cheerleader, but I was on the dance team in high school, which is why you should follow me, Amber Lee, on Twitter:@blamberr